How to make the Most of your Facebook Cover Photo

Posted: 14th May 2018

With over 2 billion monthly Facebook members, the potential to drive traffic to your website from your Facebook is incredibly high.

Although not everyone that uses Facebook will see your page, turning those that do into traffic or conversions can be difficult if you don’t use it to its full potential. Especially your Facebook cover photo.

So, what is a Facebook cover photo?

Your Facebook cover photo is the large photo on your page, sitting right above your profile image when looking on a mobile or to the right of your profile image when on a desk top.

It’s the biggest space you have on your page and the first thing people see, but it’s often underused by brands and business owners alike.

Do you pass the three second rule?

Let me ask you a question – if I was to look at your Facebook page as it is now, would I be able to tell what you do within three seconds?

Why is this important? Well we move through social media so fast and have such short attention spans that if I arrive at your page and can’t work out within a very short space of time what it is you do or can do for me then I might leave your page without giving it a chance.

Your Facebook cover photo is a perfect place in your profile to make it obvious what you do and who for. This is why it is so important to make the most of this brilliant space in your profile.

So, if you answered no, you may want to consider looking at your Facebook cover photo and changing it and that is where I can help, in this blog I will share with you ideas of what to put in your cover photo and then how to make the most of it. So if you are looking for inspiration then read on…

What can you use your cover photo for?

Now you know how important it is to use the space your cover photo offers wisely, let’s talk about how you can use it to your advantage.

Here are some ideas:

Show the core benefits of your products or services – using programs such as Canva* you can easily create a graphic that shows the main features of your products or services. You can use text in these images, so make the most of it and get some key points on there. Tell people what you do, where you do it (if that is important) and or why you are so good. I would use bullet points and not too many as remember they need to take the information in quickly.

Build your business and your email list – with email list building being such a vital part of marketing strategies, you should use every opportunity you get to yourself some more subscribers. Putting a link in the cover photo captions that shows up once clicked is another way to get subscribers directly from your page. Also the call to action button (that sits under the cover photo) can be used to sign people up so you could use the cover photo to direct them to click the button.

Showcase a new product – not only can you showcase your business overall using your cover photo, but you can also use this space to directly promote a product or a new product launch.

Highlight any upcoming events you’re attending or hosting – Events are a huge part of business and if you’re big on networking, sharing the events you’re hosting or attending at the top of your Facebook page could help promote them.

Talk about what your page is about – No matter what kind of Facebook page you’ve created, you’ll want people to know exactly what it’s about within seconds of visiting. Like the three second rule above, do they know what they’re getting if they click like? Make it clear in the header to build a strong audience from the start.

Be seasonal – It’s very common for people to use their cover photos in a seasonal way. This could be displaying seasonal products, seasonal offers or just showing your fun side. As long as you don’t stray too far away from your original message, this is a great way to stay on trend at all times – as long as you don’t forget to update them as the season ends. Making your cover photo seasonal also makes the visitor aware that you regularly update your page and therefore your content is fresh and up to date.

Show case your company video – You can now use the cover photo space to upload a video to your Facebook page, so if you want to show more than just an image then this could be the perfect option. Videos and social media are the perfect partners and moving images are a great way to a catch peoples attention and engage them. The recommended size for a video is 820 x 462.

Tips for making the Most out of your Facebook cover photo

Make sure it fits the correct dimensions – The current dimensions for a Facebook cover photo are 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall for desktop, and 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall for mobile. If your image does not fit either of these dimensions it will either stretch, or important information could be cut off. Canva also has a template you can use that is already the correct size for desktop.

Add a cover photo description – Once you have uploaded your perfectly designed cover photo, you can add a description to help enhance its use! This will only show when people click on it, but you can include any additional text you need, as well as clickable links to specific pages.

Change it at least every three months – As a cover photo is so prominent on your page it is vital that you change it as often as you can, to avoid your page looking ‘unloved’. I’d recommend changing it at least every three months, but no more than once a month.

Consider what it would look like on both mobile and desktop – There is not a lot of difference between how a cover photo looks on desktop and mobile, apart from the fact the top and bottom are slightly cut off. Consider this when designing your image and leave any important information out of this ‘blind spot’.

So, are you using your Facebook cover photo to its full potential? I would love to see what you come up with, so please feel free to drop us an email or contact us via social media to show us your new and improved cover photo.

*Canva is a free online design program that we use all the time and love – click here to check it out.

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